U.S. Outer Continental Shelf – Officer of the Watch

Arctic Drilling Design and Operation Standards

December 18, 2013 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

The following information is an extract from PEW recommendations on Arctic Oil Spill Prevention, Response, and Safety in the U.S. Arctic Ocean published during September 2013. The design of the drilling rig, the blowout preventer, or BOP, and cementing practices are all essential to safe drilling operations and accident prevention. Drilling rigs must be designed and operated to meet the Arctic conditions they will encounter. Due to the remote nature of Arctic drilling operations, rigs must be self-sufficient and carry a minimum level of well control materials such as drilling mud, cement, and extra fuel.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: arctic, drilling, offshore, Offshore Platform, U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

Arctic Facilities Design and Operation

December 4, 2013 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

The following information is an extract from PEW recommendations on Arctic Oil Spill Prevention, Response, and Safety in the U.S. Arctic Ocean published during September 2013. Once exploration drilling is complete and sufficient oil and/or gas resources are found to support year-round production, a more permanent offshore production facility may be installed with a pipeline connecting it to shore. Offshore production facilities typically include development drilling operations, wellheads, processing facilities, storage, and living quarters.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: arctic, drilling, offshore, Offshore Platform, U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

BSEE Notification to Black Elk Regarding Safety Measures

December 11, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

During November the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a latter notifying Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, LLC (Black Elk) that the company must take immediate steps to improve its safety performance on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). According to BSEE the notification to Black Elk was the result of unacceptable safety performance following numerous incidents involving Black Elk facilities. BSEE gave specific instructions to Black Elk regarding corrective actions that the company should take in order to safety measures up to BSEE standards.